Cardinals to Open Season With Exhibition Game at Maryland

Sep 19, 2013

by Chris McManes

The Catholic University men’s basketball team has in the
past three seasons played exhibition games against Notre Dame,
George Washington and Florida. This year, the Cardinals will open
up with Maryland.

“How many Division III programs can say they’ve
played teams from the Big East, Atlantic 10 and SEC?” CUA
Coach Steve Howes said. “And now we add the ACC.”

CUA and the Terrapins will meet on Nov. 3 at Comcast Center.

“Steve Howes and his staff have done a tremendous job
building an outstanding program at Catholic University,”
Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon said. “They won 25 games and
advanced to the Division III NCAA Tournament last season. We
will be competing against a strong and discipline team in
Catholic. They value each possession and have a roster with
good shooters and ball-handlers.

“This will be a good opening game test to gauge our
progress over the summer and see what improvements we have made
early on during fall practice.”

The Cardinals are eagerly anticipating the contest.

“I’m incredibly grateful and appreciative to Coach
Turgeon and his staff for the opportunity to play such a storied
program,” Howes said. “As a lifelong Maryland fan, this
is especially thrilling.”

GW Coach Mike Lonergan is pleased to see his CUA successor play
games against major basketball competition.

“I think it’s great Steve has been able to schedule
these games,” Lonergan said. “As a former Division III
student-athlete and coach at Catholic University who competed
against several Division I schools as a player and coach, I can
tell you it was a thrill to test ourselves against higher-level
competition.

“The players and coaches will have memories from these
games that last a lifetime.”

In addition to the Terps, CUA will play at Division I Loyola
(Md.) in a regular-season game Dec. 3. “The step up in
class,” Lonergan said, “will toughen up the Cardinals
as they look to return to the NCAA playoffs.”

A Matchup of Two 25-Win Teams

CUA is coming off one of its finest seasons ever. The Landmark
Conference champions captured the regular-season league title with
a 12-2 record, advanced to the second round of the NCAA
Tournament and finished 25-4. Head Coach Steve Howes and his
assistants were named Landmark Coaching Staff of the
Year.

Chris Kearney was honored as Landmark Conference Player of the
Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and became just the second
Cardinal selected first-team All-American (NABC). He is now playing
professionally in Spain.

The Terrapins were 25-13 last season and advanced to the NIT
semifinals at Madison Square Garden. They return a talented team
that should do well in their final season in the ACC. Howes admires
the job Turgeon has done since succeeding Gary Williams two years
ago and is looking forward to sharing the same court with him.

“Coach Turgeon, since he came over to Maryland, has been
very helpful to me,” Howes said. “I’ve learned a
lot from him, so to prepare and play against one of the best
coaches in the country who I have tremendous respect for, will be a
special moment for me and our program.”

Maryland-CUA Connections

Two former Cardinal head coaches also coached at Maryland. After
Lonergan departed CUA following the 2003-04 season, he was an
assistant under Williams for one year. Lonergan left College Park
when he named head coach at Vermont, where he remained until taking
the GW job in 2011.

Tom Young was a Terrapin captain who helped lead the club to its
first Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 1958. He coached
the Cardinals from 1958-67 and steered the program to its first
league championship when it won the 1964 Mason-Dixon Conference
Tournament. The victory put the Cards into the NCAA College
Division Tournament.

Young, the fourth-winningest coach in Cardinal history with 134
victories, returned to Maryland for two years as an assistant
before serving as American’s head coach. He guided Rutgers to
the 1976 Final Four.

Howes passed Young on the school’s all-time wins list in
2011. He enters his 10th season at CUA with a career record of
175-79 (.689) and is just three victories shy of passing Fred Rice
(1911-30). At that point, the only man he will trail is Lonergan,
who went 251-88 (.740) from 1992-2004.

Howes has led the Cards to three conference championships and
three NCAA Tournament appearances. He has the second-highest
winning percentage in school history, and D3Hoops.com named him
2012-13 Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year.

First-year Siena Head Coach Jimmy Patsos played for the
Cardinals alongside Lonergan before serving on Williams’
Terrapin staff for 13 years. He played a key role in
Maryland’s 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, seven
Sweet Sixteens, two Final Fours (2001, 2002) and the 2002 National
Championship.

A Lifelong Terrapins Fan

Howes was there when the Terps played their final game in Cole
Field House, a 112-92 victory over Virginia on March 3, 2002. NBA
veteran Roger Mason, one of Howes’ former players at Good
Counsel High School, was playing for the Cavaliers.

“So much of my basketball education occurred at Cole Field
House and later at Comcast,” Howes said. “From working
camp there to watching practices and games to when Jimmy and Mike
were there, to going out and watching them in practice and games
now, Maryland has played an important role in my professional
development.”

Howes is also a big fan of the Terps women’s basketball
team and has become friends with Coach Brenda Frese. You’re
just as likely to see him and his family at a women’s game as
a men’s.

“Coach Frese has also allowed me to attend their
practices,” he said. “I’ve learned quite a bit
from her and her staff, and I appreciate their kindness and
openness toward me. She and Coach Turgeon are excellent teachers
and coaches.”

Howes will have to put aside his Terrapin loyalty for one night
in November.

“It will probably be the first and only time I ever root
against Maryland,” he said. “When they play the fight
song, it’s going to be hard not to sing
along.”

The 2013-14 CUA Men’s
Basketball schedule will be released on the CUA Athletics website
(www.cuacardinals.com) at the beginning of
October.